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Recently I spoke about Piaget's theory of cognitive development. My regular clients know this is "big-picture art education". We cover everything from exactly how to hold a brush, to "where in the metaphysical heck" did that idea come from!"

An idea

Just one way to hold a brush

So, this is not art for the complacent or the smug. You will be challenged. You will surprise yourself!

I will show you:

How creative you already are (a lot).

How much you already know about style.

It takes about four hours for me to prove that to you.

And in the process you will plan and execute a great painting. From scratch. No tracing. No drawing on the canvas. Actually painting in a small and focussed group, discussing the one subject.

As experience grows in the student body at Inglis Academy we will venture farther and farther across the rich and rewarding landscape of Western Art! The downside of that (there's always a price to pay) is that there will be far less sessions of Starry Night!

For those who in the future are going to miss out... sorry, that's life. I am a one man operator and there are no current plans to scale up (or dilute) the quality of this coaching. Act now, or carpe diem!

This is pretty unique in the world of Art teaching, and some of you really appreciate how lucky you are to be along for the ride, as I was graciously reminded by a very capable professional illustrator in a recent session.

At the moment, most weeks at IA look like figure A, mostly new students. Although last weekend we had a class with mostly intermediates, like figure B.

Class / experience breakdown

My plan is that by the end of 2018 we will be at the figure B ratio every week.

At the moment there are about 50 paintings in the syllabus, so come on Wednesday people, here is your chance to have a go at one of the less-scheduled paintings! Chances are you have already painted Starry Night? If you are interested in painting on WednesdaysThis email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with 4 choices from the syllabus. When I get 3 people interested I'll schedule a class.

Next week I'll talk about some of the directions the course will be taking.

I often mention Piaget when we are toning the canvas. I ask you to play with the material, as you played with the dummy in your first few months of life. Most people can't remember that, but it's worth trying to recreate that sense of play, wonder and kineaesthetic exploration.

In the induction process I also ask you about your movement training... and tell you that I don't care how long ago it was, nor how young you were when you did it!

Jean Piaget's work helped establish how important movement and touch are to the developing brain. Here is a simplified map of Piaget's stages of infant development. We travel through some of these stages again each time we paint.

I use various strategies to enhance and amplify these stages when appropriate.

Here's more detail, if you want it:

Stage

Age

Description

1: Simple reflexes

Birth-6 weeks

Coordination of sensation and action through reflexive behaviors.
Three primary reflexes:

sucking of objects in the mouth

following moving or interesting objects with the eyes

closing of the hand when an object makes contact with the palm (palmar grasp)

2: First habits & primary circular reactions

6 weeks-4 months

Coordination of sensation and two types of schema: habits (reflex) and primary circular reactions (reproduction of an event that initially occurred by chance).
Passive reactions, caused by classical or operant conditioning, can begin.

3: Secondary circular reactions

4–8 months

Development of habits.
Infants become more object-oriented, moving beyond self-preoccupation.
The differentiation between means and ends also occurs. This is perhaps one of the most important stages of a child's growth as it signifies the dawn of logic.

4: Coordination of secondary circular reactions stages

8–12 months

Coordination of vision and touch—hand-eye coordination; coordination of schemas and intentionality.
This stage is associated primarily with the development of logic and the coordination between means and ends. This is an extremely important stage of development, holding what Piaget calls the "first proper intelligence". Also, this stage marks the beginning of goal orientation, the deliberate planning of steps to meet an objective.

5: Tertiary circular reactions, novelty, and curiosity

12–18 months

Infants become intrigued by the many properties of objects and by the many things they can make happen to objects; they experiment with new behavior.
This stage is associated primarily with the discovery of new means to meet goals. Piaget describes the child at this juncture as the "young scientist", conducting pseudo-experiments to discover new methods of meeting challenges.

6: Internalization of schemas

18–24 months

The ability to use primitive symbols and form enduring mental representations.
This stage is associated primarily with the beginnings of insight, or true creativity. This marks the passage into the preoperational stage.